The Double Traitor eBook

“Prince Herschfeld wants to talk to me for a
few minutes,” she whispered. “I think
I should like to hear what he has to say. The
Princess is there, too, whom I have scarcely seen.
Will you come and be presented?”

“Might I leave you with them for a few minutes?”
Norgate suggested. “There is a man here
whom I want to talk to. I will come back for you
in half an hour.”

“You must meet the Prince first,” she
insisted. “He was interested when he heard
who you were.”

She turned to the little group who were awaiting her
return. The Ambassador moved a little forward.

“Prince,” she said, “may I present
to you Mr. Francis Norgate? Mr. Norgate has just
come from Berlin.”

“Not with the kindliest feelings towards us,
I am afraid,” remarked the Prince, holding out
his hand. “I hope, however, that you will
not judge us, as a nation, too severely.”

“On the contrary, I was quite prepared to like
Germany,” Norgate declared. “I was
simply the victim of a rather unfortunate happening.”

“There are many others besides myself who sincerely
regret it,” the Prince said courteously.
“You are kind enough to leave the Baroness for
a little time in our charge. We will take the
greatest care of her, and I hope that when you return
you will give me the great pleasure of presenting
you to the Princess.”

“You are very kind,” Norgate murmured.

“We shall meet again, then,” the Prince
declared, as he turned away with Anna by his side.

“In half an hour,” Anna whispered, smiling
at him over her shoulder.

CHAPTER XX

The Right Honourable John William Hebblethwaite strolled
along by the rails of the polo ground, exchanging
greetings with friends, feeling very well content
with himself and the world generally. A difficult
session was drawing towards an end. The problem
which had defeated so many governments seemed at last,
under his skilful treatment, capable of solution.
Furthermore, the session had been one which had added
to his reputation both as an orator and a statesman.
There had been an astonishingly flattering picture
of him in an illustrated paper that week, and he was
exceedingly pleased with the effect of the white hat
which he was wearing at almost a jaunty angle.
He was a great man and he knew it. Nevertheless,
he greeted Norgate with ample condescension and engaged
him at once in conversation.

“Delighted to see you in such company, my young
friend,” he declared. “I think that
half an hour’s conversation with Prince Herschfeld
would put some of those fire-eating ideas out of your
head. That’s the man whom we have to thank
for the everyday improvement of our relations with
Germany.”

“The Prince has the reputation of being a great
diplomatist,” Norgate remarked.

“Added to which,” Hebblethwaite continued,
“he came over here charged, as you might say,
almost with a special mission. He came over here
to make friends with England. He has done it.
So long as we have him in London, there will never
be any serious fear of misunderstanding between the
two countries.”